Systems and methods for determining a state of an appliance

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for determining a state of an appliance are provided. A controller determines a usage of the appliance. Responsive to determining the usage of the appliance, the state of the appliance is altered.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to appliance control and morespecifically to appliance usage restriction.

BACKGROUND

One in four people worldwide lack electricity. In many developingnations, centralized electrical production is not available andacquiring autonomous electrical production capabilities and appliancesfor utilizing produced electricity is cost prohibitive. The upfrontcosts of purchasing solar energy cells and related hardware as well asbasic appliances such as lights, refrigerators, and fans are just toogreat for many people. Thus, a need exists for a system that enablespersons on budgets to acquire electrical systems that may greatlyimprove health and quality of life while ensuring that providers ofthose systems are properly compensated.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the teachings provided herein, systems and methodsare provided for an appliance system. The system may include anappliance and a processor connected to the appliance such that theprocessor places the appliance in an enabled state or a disabled state.The processor may be configured to track usage of the appliance and toplace the appliance in a disabled state when the usage of the applianceexceeds a threshold amount. The system may also include a data receivingdevice configured to receive a code, wherein upon receipt of a validcode, the processor is configured to adjust the threshold amount toallow additional usage of the appliance.

As another example, a method of operating an appliance may includedetermining a usage threshold amount and monitoring usage of theappliance. A code may be received using a human interface device or amachine-to-machine communication device, the code being associated witha credit amount. A determination may be made that the received code is avalid code, and the usage threshold amount may be adjusted based on thecredit amount associated with the valid code. The appliance may bedisabled when the monitored usage exceeds the usage threshold amount.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features,aspects, and advantages of the invention will become apparent from thedescription, the drawings, and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an appliance usage monitoring systemresponsive to a television.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a charge controller that is part ofa solar power generation system.

FIG. 3 depicts an example authorization code.

FIG. 4 depicts a network of appliances responsive to one or moreappliance usage monitoring systems.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting an example code verificationoperation.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram depicting example monitoring of usage of anappliance.

FIG. 7 depicts an example operational scenario.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram depicting a method of operating an appliance.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Electrical appliances as well as systems for autonomous production andstorage of electricity are often cost prohibitive, excluding a largeportion of the population from using those appliances. While many areunable to pay the large upfront costs involved with purchasingelectrical appliances outright, those people may be able to pay for suchappliances via an installment payment plan (e.g., a rent-to-own plan ora continuous rental plan). Appliance providers may have interests thatrun counter to appliance users at times in that the appliance providersdesire to be paid in full for their goods. Appliance providers mayprefer full payment of a purchase cost for an appliance upfront, thusguaranteeing payment. Installment plans may be less attractive to aprovider, as the provider assumes certain risk that the appliance userwill default on his payment plan. Appliance providers may be morewilling to offer appliances via installment plans if the risk ofnon-payment is mitigated.

An appliance usage monitoring system may provide such mitigation byselectively enabling or disabling an appliance or collection ofappliances based on the status of payments made by the user for theappliance and tracked usage of the appliances. When usage of theappliance exceeds a usage threshold that is set based on the currentstatus of payments for the appliance, the appliance is disabled by theappliance usage monitoring system. The usage threshold may also beconsidered a balance of available usage (e.g., money credit) that issubtracted from, where the usage threshold is exceeded and the applianceis disabled when usage fees exceed a current balance. The appliance maybe re-activated when payments for the appliance become current. Becausethe appliance is non-functional when payments are not current, users aremore likely to make timely payments. Appliance providers may be morewilling to provide appliances via installment payment plans based onthis knowledge, making the appliances available to a larger segment ofthe population. Appliances may take any number of forms and may includedevices that provide electricity, devices that store electricity,devices that use electricity, or other devices that rely on chemicalenergy, mechanical energy, nuclear energy, or are otherwise powered thatcan be placed into an enabled or disabled state.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an appliance usage monitoring systemresponsive to a television. An appliance usage monitoring system 102 isconnected to a television 104 and controls whether the television is inan enabled or disabled state. An appliance usage monitoring system 102may be manifest in a variety of forms including a data processor or amicrocontroller. Herein, an appliance usage monitoring system 102 is, atcertain points, referred to generally as a processor. Example processorsthat may be used include a Microchip PIC24FJ64, an Atmel AT89C51, aZilog Encore Z8F0130, a similar 8-bit, 16-bit, or 32-bitmicrocontroller, or others. A processor 102 may be attached to anappliance, such as a television 104, externally or may be integratedinto the appliance. The processor 102 may include some type oftamper-resistance protection.

The processor tracks usage of the appliance and is configured to placethe appliance in a disabled state when usage of the appliance exceeds ausage threshold amount. Usage may be tracked in a variety of differentways. For example, usage may be tracked by the passage of time. In sucha case, an installment plan may grant a user one month of usage of anappliance for each payment made. In another example, usage may betracked as an amount of time of active use. In such a case, aninstallment plan may grant a user 20 hours of active use (e.g.,television watching) for a $5.00 payment. In a further example, usagemay be tracked as an amount of energy generated, stored, or used. Insuch a case, an installment plan may grant a user access to produce anduse 1 kWh of energy using a solar powered energy generation/storagesystem for a $10.00 payment. Other metrics for appliance usage may alsobe utilized.

In addition to tracking usage of an appliance, an appliance usagemonitoring system 102 tracks a usage threshold that determines how muchthe appliance may be used before the appliance is to be placed into adisabled state. The usage threshold may be set according to terms of aninstallment payment plan between an appliance provider and a user. Theusage threshold may be adjustable based on receipt of confirmation ofpayment to the application provider. For example, a user may agree to aninstallment payment plan for a television, where the user is permittedto use the television for $5.00 per month. The user pays $5.00 at thetime of agreement and the usage threshold is set to one month from thetime of the agreement. When the appliance usage monitoring system 102determines that the month has expired, and no additional paymentconfirmations have been received, the appliance usage monitoring system102 may place the television in a disabled state. Upon receipt of apayment confirmation, the appliance usage monitoring system 102 mayadjust the usage threshold to one month from the receipt of paymentconfirmation. If a payment confirmation for one month of usage isreceived by the appliance usage monitoring system while the televisionis still in an enabled state, then the appliance usage monitoring systemmay extend the usage threshold one month from the current usagethreshold.

Some appliance usage monitoring systems 102 may also support aninstallment plan pay-off feature. A user may decide to pay off theremaining balance of his installment plan instead of continuing to makeinstallment payments. A special payment confirmation may be provided tothe appliance usage monitoring system 102 associated with thenow-paid-off appliance indicating that the appliance has been paid forin full. Upon receipt of such a message, the associated appliance usagemonitoring system may allow continual use of the appliance withoutplacing the appliance in a disabled state. This may be accomplished in avariety of ways including extending the usage threshold to infinity orbeyond the useful life of the appliance, discontinuing monitoring ofusage of the appliance, setting a flag instructing the system 102 not toplace the appliance in a disabled state when usage exceeds the usagethreshold, or other mechanisms.

The appliance usage monitoring system 102 may place an appliance in adisabled state in a variety of ways. For example, an appliance usagemonitoring system 102 may disconnect an appliance, such as a television104, from a power source, such that the appliance is completelydisabled. The appliance usage monitoring system 102 may completelydisabled an appliance via a number of other mechanisms as well. Theappliance usage monitoring system 102 may disable an appliance byplacing the appliance in a state of diminished usefulness. Such adisabling may allow some limited use of the appliance. For example, adisabled television may be limited to display of a single channel or asubset of channels that are available when the television is in anenabled state (e.g., only a channel displaying a message prompting theuser to buy more credit is viewable). A light appliance may be limitedto only a lowest brightness setting. A fan appliance may be limited to alowest speed setting. An amount of power generated, stored, or madeavailable for use from a solar energy system may be limited (e.g., to25% of enabled state) when the system is placed in a disabled state byan appliance usage monitoring system.

The appliance usage monitoring system 102 may be used in a variety ofcontexts. For example, the appliance usage monitoring system 102 may beincorporated into an autonomous solar power system that can operatewithout needing a connection to any electrical grid (e.g., a system maybe used in remote locations having no connection to a centralized powerprovider). The system may include a solar panel, a wind turbine, orother energy capture device. A charge controller may control transfer ofthat captured energy to one or more batteries. Power from the one ormore batteries may be supplied to one or more appliances via DC power orAC power via an inverter.

The appliance usage monitoring system may receive payment confirmationin a variety of ways. FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting a chargecontroller that is part of a solar power generation system. The chargecontroller 202 includes a processor 204 connected to the chargecontroller 202 such that the processor 204 places the charge controller202 in an enabled state or a disabled state. The processor 204 tracksusage of the charge controller 202 and places the charge controller 202in a disabled state when usage of the charge controller 202 exceeds athreshold amount (e.g., the charge controller 202 provides more than athreshold amount of energy to a battery for storage).

The charge controller 202 also includes a human interface device 206 fordata entry. The data entry device 206 is configured to receive a code.When a valid code is received via the data entry device 206, theprocessor 204 is configured to adjust the threshold amount to allowadditional usage of the appliance. Data entry devices may take a varietyof forms. In the example of FIG. 2, the data entry device 206 is akeypad. Upon making an installment payment, a user may be provided acode. A user may type a code into the data entry device 206. The dataentry device 206 or the processor 204 may verify the authenticity of thecode in one of a variety of ways, as described further herein below.Upon verification of the authenticity of the code, the threshold amountis adjusted. For example, when a user types a valid code using the dataentry device 206, the processor 204 may extend the threshold amount suchthat the charge controller may be used in an active state for a longerperiod of time or may be made active for providing a further amount ofenergy to a battery for storage.

The code may be entered via a number of other mechanisms as well. Asingle button may be used, where the code can be entered in a Morse-codefashion. Multiple buttons could be arranged in series or in a keypadgrid. A microphone could be used for receiving audible tones that conveythe code (e.g., a mobile phone could be held close to the microphone,and tones representing a code could be played from the phone to themicrophone). A barcode scanner could read an optical code printed onpaper or displayed on a screen. Codes may also be entered wirelessly viaan RFID scanning system (e.g., the system could include an RFID reader,where an RFID chip containing a code is placed close to the reader fortransmission of the code) or an infrared receiver.

Some or all of the code may also be sent directly to the device withoutuser intervention via a wireless communication protocol such as 802.11(Wi-Fi), GSM (Global System For Communications), SMS (Short MessageService), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), EDGE (Enhanced Data Ratesfor GSM Evolution), 3G (International Mobile Telecommunications-2000),WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access), or 4G(International Mobile Telecommunications Advanced).

Codes for extending threshold amounts or for unlocking appliances forunlimited use may take a variety of forms. Codes may be unsecured or maybe encrypted or otherwise secured to confirm authenticity, preventreuse, and otherwise ensure protection of an appliance provider'sinvestment by preventing misuse of the system. FIG. 3 depicts an exampleauthorization code. The final code is a concatenation of a number ofvalues that are interpreted by the system, such as via a processor, todetermine authenticity of the code and actions that should be taken bythe system in response to receipt of a valid code (e.g., extending ausage threshold). The final code depicted in FIG. 3 is a concatenationof a device serial number, an amount of credit that was purchased by auser, a series number, and a cryptographic signature. The device serialnumber may be included with each code to ensure that the code is usedwith the system for which payment was made. The system may refuse toadjust a threshold amount when the device serial number identified inthe code does not match a device serial number of the appliance. Thecredit amount identifies an amount by which a threshold amount should beadjusted based on a received payment. All payments may move thethreshold amount a uniform amount, or larger payments may move thethreshold amount larger amounts than smaller payments. A credit amountmay indicate that the appliance has been paid for in full, unlocking theappliance. Receipt of a certain number of payments or certain cumulativecredit amounts may also unlock the appliance (e.g., the appliance may beunlocked upon receipt of a code for a final installment payment).

A series number may be included to prevent reentry of a code (e.g., thesystem may only accept one code for each series number). Additionally,the code may include a cryptographic signature. The cryptographicsignature may be generated in a variety of ways, such as via the publickey infrastructure (PKI) (e.g., the cryptographic signature may be adigital signature created using a private key where the system verifiesthe authorship of the code using a public (e.g., RSA) key), or via ashared secret key using cryptographic algorithms such as AES, SHA1, orSHA256, or SHA512 to generate the signature. Such a key may authenticatethe author and verify that the message has not been tampered with, suchas via an error-checking value. The signature may be entered at the sametime as the rest of the code, or the processor may request the signatureseparately via a wireless communication protocol.

An appliance usage monitoring system may be responsive to a singleappliance or may function with a network of appliances. FIG. 4 depicts anetwork of appliances responsive to one or more appliance usagemonitoring systems. The network includes a solar panel 402, a chargecontroller 404, a battery 406, a light 408, a fan 410, a television 412,and a refrigerator 414. Each of the depicted appliances may include anautonomous appliance usage monitoring system, such as in the processorsdepicted at 416. Autonomous appliance usage monitoring systems 416 mayindividually monitor usage of associated appliances, accept codes forthose appliances, and place the associated appliances in enabled ordisabled states.

In other implementations, an appliance usage monitoring system may becentralized, having one master processor (e.g., the processor 418connected to the charge controller 404) and several slave processors416. Codes for each of the appliances or the network as a whole may bereceived via the data entry device 420 connected to the chargecontroller 404. In some implementations, installment payments may bemade for the entire network of appliances. In those cases, when usage ofthe appliances exceeds the usage threshold, the master processor 418 maysend signals to the slave processors 416 instructing the slaveprocessors 416 to place the appliances into a disabled state. In anotherimplementation, the master processor may coordinate installment paymentsfor each of the appliances in the network individually. In those cases,usage for each of the appliances may be tracked, and the masterprocessor may instruct that individual appliances be placed into adisabled state by their associated processor 416 when usage of thoseappliances exceeds the usage threshold. The usage threshold for eachappliance may be extended individually through receipt of valid paymentcodes associated with those appliances.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting an example code verificationoperation. At 502, a user enters an authorization code, for example,through a human interface device, or the code may be received withoutuser intervention through machine-to-machine communication. At 504, thesystem determines whether the cryptographic signature included with theauthorization code is valid. If the signature is not valid, then anerror message is displayed 506, and the code is rejected. At 508, thesystem determines whether the serial number included with theauthorization code matches an identifier associated with the appliance.If the serial number does not match, then an error message is displayed506, and the code is rejected. At 510, the system determines whether theauthorization code was previously used, such as via a series numbervalue. If the code has already been entered, then an error message isdisplayed 506, and the code is rejected. At 512, a specified value(e.g., an amount corresponding to the payment amount identified in theauthorization code) is added to the usage threshold. At 514, the seriesnumber of the authorization code is recorded to prevent reentry of anauthorization code. If the appliance is in a disabled state, then theappliance is enabled at 516, and a success message is displayed at 518.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram depicting example monitoring of usage of anappliance. A delay is performed at 602, and a usage of one or moreappliances during the delay is analyzed at 604. In the example of FIG.6, a fee is calculated based on the detected usage (e.g., 1 minute oftelevision watching is calculated as a $0.01 usage fee). At 606, theusage fee calculated at 604 is subtracted from a balance (e.g., anamount of credit held on the device as identified by enteredauthorization codes). At 608, a determination is made as to whether thebalance is greater than zero. If the balance is greater than zero, thencredit remains and the process returns to the delay stage 602. If thebalance is less than zero, then the balance is set equal to zero at 610,and the device(s) is disabled at 612. A message may be displayedprompting the user to purchase more credit at 614.

FIG. 7 depicts an example operational scenario. On January 1, theappliance is enabled with $12.00 of credit remaining. Usage during theperiod from January 1 to January 5 reduces the credit. On January 6, thecredit remaining reaches $0.00 and the appliance is placed into adisabled state. On January 9, the appliance is re-enabled with a creditof $10.00, such as via entry of a valid code. From January 9 to January13, usage of the appliance reduces the credit to $2.00. On January 14,the appliance is further recharged by $13.00. The $13.00 credit is addedto the remaining $2.00 credit, resulting in $15.00 of total credit.Usage from January 14 to January 20 reduces the credit to $0.00,whereupon the appliance is placed into a disabled state. On January 22,a code is entered stating that the appliance has been fully paid for andis to be permanently unlocked. As indicated, on and after January 22credits and usage may not be further tracked after a permanent unlock.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram depicting a method of operating an appliance.At 802, a usage threshold amount is determined, and usage of theappliance is monitored at 804. A code may be received at 806 using ahuman interface device or machine-to-machine communication device, thecode being associated with a credit amount. At 808, a determination maybe made that the received code is a valid code, and the usage thresholdamount may be adjusted at 810 based on the credit amount associated withthe valid code. The appliance may be disabled at 812 when the monitoredusage exceeds the usage threshold amount.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the functional operationsdescribed in this specification can be implemented in digital electroniccircuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including thestructures disclosed in this specification and their structuralequivalents, or in combinations of one or more of them. Embodiments ofthe subject matter described in this specification can be implemented asone or more computer program products, i.e., one or more modules ofcomputer program instructions encoded on a computer-readable medium forexecution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus.

The computer-readable medium can be a machine-readable storage device, amachine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, or a combination ofone or more of them. The term “data processing apparatus” encompassesall apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including byway of example a programmable processor, a computer, or multipleprocessors or computers. The apparatus can include, in addition tohardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computerprogram in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, aprotocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or acombination of one or more of them, A propagated signal is anartificially generated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical,optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated to encodeinformation for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code), can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can bedeployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module,component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computingenvironment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to afile in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a filethat holds other programs or data (e.g., on or more scripts stored in amarkup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program inquestion, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store oneor more modules, sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer programcan be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computersthat are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites andinterconnected by a communication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform functions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing instructions and one or more memory devicesfor storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will alsoinclude, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer datato, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g.,magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks. However, a computerneed not have such devices. Moreover, a computer can be embedded inanother device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant(PDA), a mobile audio player, a Global Positioning System (GPS)receiver, to name just a few. Computer-readable media suitable forstoring computer program instructions and data include all forms ofnonvolatile memory, media, and memory devices, including by way ofexample semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flashmemory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. Theprocessor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in,special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) to LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), e.g., the Internet.

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of the invention or of what may beclaimed, but rather as descriptions of features specific to particularembodiments of the invention. Certain features that are described inthis specification in the context or separate embodiments can also beimplemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, variousfeatures that are described in the context of a single embodiment canalso be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in anysuitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be describedabove as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed assuch, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some casesbe excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may bedirected to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the invention have been described. Otherembodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example,the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different orderand still achieve desirable results.

What is claimed:
 1. An autonomously powered system comprising: a chargecontroller in electrical communication with a first appliance, whereinthe first appliance is powered by a standalone device having noconnection to a centralized power grid and is configured to electricallypower a first device, the charge controller executing the method of:evaluating the usage of the first appliance against a thresholdpermitted amount, wherein the threshold permitted amount determines anamount that the first appliance can be in an enabled state before thefirst appliance is placed in a disabled state, and wherein the thresholdamount is (i) a period of time during which the first appliance is to bein the enabled state, (ii) an amount of time the first appliance isusable in the enabled state, or (iii) an amount of power that may beused by the first appliance before being placed in the disabled state,in response to a determination that the usage of the first appliance isless than the threshold permitted amount, placing the first appliance inthe enabled state, and in response to a determination that the usage ofthe first appliance exceeds the threshold permitted amount, placing thefirst appliance in the disabled state.